St.Vincent and the Grenadines recorded its 32nd murder for the year 2018 Sunday morning, when the charred body of 61-year-old Veral James was discovered by a villager. The villager then alerted Superintendent Kenneth John, who lives in the area.
Veral’s body was found at the back of his home in Stubbs around 7am. Reports from the police indicate that the body had signs of violence. His body was badly burnt from his legs up to mid-section and one concrete block was placed on his head with another on his arm.
James lived alone and was last seen on Saturday.
In an interview Sunday morning, Veral’s brother ‘Charkes James’ he expressed great sadness in learning of the manner in which his brother met his death.
His brother indicated that he last saw Veral on Saturday, where he greeted him and said that he was “going up the road”.
He also expressed that Veral was not known to be a troublemaker, however, loved to drink rum and “would get on with his stupidness”. [sic]
He also called for justice to be served and that the death penalty should be handed down to the perpetrators of the crime.
At the time of the interview, Veral’s mother who is still alive and resides in Trinidad was yet to find out about her son’s death.
A post-mortem examination will be conducted on the body to ascertain the cause of death.
Police are soliciting the assistance of members of the public who may have any information that can assist with this investigation.
Persons are being asked to contact the ACP in-charge Crimes at telephone 784-456-1339, Officer in-charge South Central Division at 784-458-4200 or Officer in-charge CID at 784-456-1810. Calls will be treated confidentially.